Pelotonia 2010- Friday {day 1}

Remember when David raised $2000 las year, and rode 180 miles on his bike? In Rebok sneakers?

He did it again, this time with better equipment, in better shape, but with fewer miles.

Last year was tough after the race. We were all so proud of him (including himself), but the truth was 180 miles just isn’t easily accomplished by a casually trained rider. This year, he opted to train to kick the 102 Mile tour’s ass.

and he did. Here’s the story

Friday.
There was a celebration / organized sign-in / dinner / concert the night before the race. It’s also when you drop off your bike, pick up your race packet, swag bag, fuel up, and relax before the big race. Counting Crows put on a show, and The president of OSU, Director of Pelotonia, and Chris Spielman spoke. Chris’ speech was amazing. If you don’t know him- look him up. He is an Alum at OSU, a former Buckeye football player, former NFL player, and appears on Sports Center. Football was not why he was speaking. Chris’ wife, Stephanie was diagnosed in 1998 with breast cancer at 30 years old, and battled relentlessly for nearly 12 years. She took it upon herself to be an advocate for all things research. She became a “Cancer Crusader” who spoke at countless benefits, raised money for research and awareness of the importance of active prevention. She fought. Hard. She publicly appeared though out the journey. From the time that she was diagnosed, through her mastectomies, through chemo, through health and remission. She passed away in 2009, 10 months ago. Her husband spoke about the importance of events like the Pelotonia, the importance of research, the importance of awareness. It was so moving. They showed a video of one of Stephanie’s more famous speeches. The entire crowd of 8000 people were in tears. It energized us all, lit a stronger fire to kill the disease.

They also showed this video: Entitled “Why we Ride” (Watch for the husband!)

After the presentations, the videos, we ate. This was only ONE of the plates that David had. That boy, for as slim as he is, can put away a ton of food, especially when he is fueling up for a race. Menu included: rolls, strips of steak, chicken kabobs, Pasta, Caprese salad, roasted potatoes, Beer , veggies, and salmon. Definitely protein heavy!

The rest of the evening, we spent listing to the bands, dropping off his bike, going through the swag bag, and just relaxing.

{see the new white glasses? one of the many equipment improvements!}

As we were leaving, I snapped a few photos of the bikes all ready for the next day:

That night, we went to bed early. Maybe 9:00? We had to get up before the sun the next morning. David set his alarm for 4:00 am (!!!) and me, for 5:15.